Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata · Sandpipers and Allies
Banding codeWISN
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 10.5 in long.
2Color pattern
- Stocky with a very long, straight bill
- Bold stripes on the head
- Cryptic brown back with buff stripes
3Habitat & season
Wet meadows, marsh edges, flooded fields
In northern Utah: year-round.
Seen most often in January and June.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
A hollow 'winnowing' made by tail feathers in display; a harsh 'scaipe' call.
“a hollow, whistling who-who-who”
iNat 146050386 by Laura Mae · Blue Ridge Rd, Chesapeake, VA 23322, USA · CC BY
Know it
- In display flights, air rushing through its outer tail feathers makes a hollow 'winnowing' sound.
- Its eyes are set so far back it can see behind itself.
- Probes mud with a flexible bill tip that can open underground.
- Hard to see until it bursts up from the grass in a zigzag flight.
Often confused with
American AvocetFrom iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
Wilson's snipe is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name Gallinago is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific name delicata is Latin for "dainty".
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0